Venice, Italy

DD724

Price per night from$280.11

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR257.73), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Iconoclastic designer den

Setting

Discreet in Dorsoduro

When we find the hotel, hiding down a narrow alley in Dorsoduro, we know instantly we are somewhere really special. From the outside, you might expect it to be cramped - but it's a design triumph. DD724 may not be the only hotel in the world to feature clean lines and a brown-and-white colour palette, but it's a stroke of contemporary cool unique to these parts.
 

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A bottle of prosecco in your room on arrival

Facilities

Photos DD724 facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Six.

Check–Out

11am. Earliest check-in, 2pm.

Prices

Double rooms from £242.44 (€284), including tax at 10 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of €5.00 per person per night on check-in.

More details

Rates include Continental breakfast.

At the hotel

LCD TVs and WiFi in all rooms.

Our favourite rooms

Room B has a view of the Giudecca Canal. Room G has its own small terrace for breakfast.

Children

Better suited to older children. Rooms E and G have room for a small bed; rooms C and D can be annexed. Babysitting can be arranged in advance, at €30 an hour (€50 after 11pm).

Sustainability efforts

The hotel’s clean energy comes exclusively from the Trentino hydroelectric power plants, guaranteed by the Manager Of the Electrical System.

Food and Drink

Photos DD724 food and drink

Dress Code

Whatever you like.

Hotel restaurant

Only breakfast is served, but it’s exceptional.

Hotel bar

Fully stocked minibars in each room; no actual hotel bar, but drinks can be provided.

Room service

Breakfast only.

Location

Photos DD724 location
Address
DD724
724 Dorsoduro
Venice
30123
Italy

Planes

From Venice's Marco Polo airport, approach the city by crossing the lagoon on the Alilaguna (www.alilaguna.it) to Zattere, which takes roughly an hour and 20 minutes. It costs around €30 for the express and €15 for the other routes. From there, it’s a short walk – turn right, cross the first bridge, turn left and then follow the canal to Campo San Vio. Finally, turn right onto Calle della Chiesa. When you find a pub, you should see the small iron gate that’s the entrance to DD724. You can also get a water taxi all the way from the airport to Campo San Vio (around €140) or from Piazzale Roma, after taking a land bus (around €70); both can be organised by the hotel. Alternatively, Trieste, Verona and Treviso airports are all possibilities. The first two have bus links to their main train stations, and are then a one-hour or three-hour train journey respectively; Treviso has a direct bus (www.atvo.it) link to Piazzale Roma in Venice, from where a 20-minute journey on Route 2, 51 or 61 of the vaporetto will take you to Zattere.

Trains

Venice’s main station is Venezia Santa Lucia; see Trenitalia (www.trenitalia.com) for information on trains in Italy. To reach the hotel, take the vaporetto down the Grand Canal from Santa Lucia to Accademia (roughly 30 minutes on Route 1). Transfers can be organised by the hotel for €70 (for four people, an extra €10 for every additional person).

Automobiles

Venice is not made for cars and does not allow them into the city, so if you have driven from another part of Italy or the airport, you will need to leave your vehicle either on the mainland, which is easier, cheaper and avoids the sometimes colossal traffic jams, or at the edge of the city centre. If you park on the mainland in Mestre, you can choose between the rail station (and then proceed by trainl) or the San Giuliano parking lot (and proceed by boat).

Worth getting out of bed for

Local restaurants

Linea d’Ombra on Ponte de l’Umiltà (+39 (0)41 520 4720) is a great local restaurant on the canal. It is the perfect plot to head to in summer as it has a lovely terrace with views across to the Giudecca; the ambience is fantastic and the Venetian dishes also surprise. Cantinone Storico on Fondamenta Bragadin (+39 (0)41 523 9577) is good for seafood, and has an impressive wine cellar. Definitely try and get a seat by the canal in summer or by the window in winter. Ask the waiter to tell you about the specials – and then trust his recommendations.

Across the Grand Canal: For a cosy, wine-bottles-along-the-wall kind of osteria, try Ristorante Cantina Canaletto at Castello 5490 (+39 (0)41 521 2661). Trattoria alle Testiere on Calle del Mondo Novo (+39 (0)41 522 7220) specialises in fish. At Bancogiro on Campo San Giacometto (+39 (0)41 523 2061), ask for a window seat. Trattoria do Forni on Calle Specchieri (+39 (0)41 523 2148) is very classical; book dinner in the Orient Express room. Ristorante da Fiore on Calle del Scaleter (+39 (0)41 721 308) is one of the best restaurants; book a month in advance. Poste Vecie, on Rialto Pescheria (+39 (0)41 721 822), is Venice’s oldest restaurant, reached by a private bridge. Il Refolo is a great pizzeria near the Museum of Modern Art (+39 (0)41 524 0016), though not open all year round. Anice Stellato on Fondamenta della Sensa, Cannaregio (+39 (0)41 720 744) does fabulous fish with subtle spicing. Locanda Montin on Fondamenta di Borgo (+39 (0)41 522 7151) serves great antipasti on a vine-covered terrace.

Local cafés

A coffee in Piazza San Marco won’t come cheap, but there’s a reason why the tourists flock there – it’s spectacular; and if you’re lucky you’ll have an orchestral soundtrack. Head to Campo Santa Margherita, where students, bohemian types and families gather to eat. Al Marca on San Polo is good for a pre-dinner drink if you’re north of Ponte Rialto. Peggy Guggenheim Collection Café in the 18th-century Palazzo Venier dei Leoni is a sophisticated spot for a coffee in the wonderful garden of the museum of modern art. It is elegant and peaceful: no wonder the art lover chose this to be her final resting place.

Local bars

Sip a bellini on the floating pontoon of Cip’s Club, watching the sun set over the water. (Hotel Cipriani operates a free boat service to and from its private landing stage.) Try Centrale on Piazza San Marco, for good tunes and great cocktails. Taverna da Baffo in Campo Sant’Agostin stays open until 02h.

Reviews

Photos DD724 reviews
Juliet Kinsman

Anonymous review

By Juliet Kinsman, On-the-go editor

Arriving in Italy’s most romantic city by train, we’re a little concerned our trip is going to be more Venice Beach than La Venezia when we’re swamped by American backpackers. A foot onto the taxi boat that is going to speed us to Accademia, and it doesn’t take long for the realisation to sink in: this may be a city drowning in tourists, but it is so beautiful that you barely notice.

It’s with eager anticipation that we carry our overnight bags to our design-conscious luxury hotel for the weekend – but will somewhere contemporary really feel right in these pastel-hued, fairytale environs? When we find the hotel, hiding down a narrow alley in Dorsoduro, we know instantly we are somewhere really special. Making the most of every inch of space, it’s the hotel equivalent of the Smart car. From the outside, you might expect it to be cramped – but it’s a design triumph. We’re led up past the only communal area (two chairs on a landing, and a breakfast area) and into our room. DD724 may not be the only hotel in the world to feature clean lines and a brown-and-white colour palette, but it’s a stroke of contemporary cool unique to these parts.

What’s so unexpected about the Charming House, as DD724 is also known, is that there is also an incredible warmth to the rooms. Stylish yet cosy modern furnishings are softened with touches such as the loosely knitted wool blanket knotted at the end of the bed. You glance from a widescreen TV to an open window revealing a scene that EM Forster would be inspired by. Since we booked last-minute and missed out on one of the more palatial Junior Suites, we assume our bathroom will be snug, yet it still manages to impress, right down to its own range of olive-oil products. (In a reversal of roles this trip, Mr Smith is the one to squirrel away toiletries to take home, and the aftershave balm has him cooing like a 13-year-old girl at a Rimmel stand.)

Great fun as it is settling into such an abode, it’s hard to imagine anyone coming to this city to squander much of the day in their room. But early nights are de rigueur in Venice, and we know there’s plenty of exploring time awaiting us tomorrow. The wonderfully helpful young lady behind the tiny front desk recommends a canalside trattoria around the corner. In Venice, recommendation is crucial. Cantinone Storico turns out to be the perfect option. The risotto terra mare is out of this world, and the monkfish with fresh artichokes is absolutely delicious.

By midnight, much of Venice is sound asleep, so we decide on a treat while the going’s calm: a gondola trip. We head towards a waiting boat to enquire how much – 100! Eventually we barter him down to 80 for 40 minutes. Feeling as though we’ve got a bargain, we pile on board. It is uncomparably romantic, almost haunting, as we’re gently nudged along the dark, deserted canals; yet we spend the first ten minutes trying to calculate how much the gondolier must earn in a year. A friend of his calls down from a window, and they strike up voluble chat – clearly discussing whether to moor the yacht at St Barths or St Tropez this New Year’s Eve. Still, it’s the perfect starlit end to our night.

The next morning we’re out of our room by 09h30, and first to breakfast – most civilised. Everything is laid out in ordered presentation, with a grid of little jams and a neat line of croissants on offer. Even our eggs and bacon is served in a nouvelle-cuisine manner. But the biggest impression is made by the pistachio spread. Nutella’s dark-green-emulsion cousin is amazing. After such a satisfying start to the day, we leave not only contented, but, thanks again to the staff at DD724, with details of how to order crema di pistacchio.

Our first stop is next-door: the Guggenheim Museum. Formerly the home of Peggy Guggenheim, the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni now houses masterpieces by Brancusi, Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollock and Ernst, among others. A magnificent collection in truly charming surroundings, there’s nowhere like it. A browse of the gift shop, then it’s time to brave the more traditional sights.

En route to Piazza San Marco, it’s hard to resist a fresh slice of pizza from a kiosk next to the hotel; it hits the spot and, a rare treat in Venice, it’s a bargain. We now have the strength to face the hordes, and head to the epicentre. The Basilica San Marco is indeed breathtaking from the outside, but as we’re not feeling up to a long wait queueing, we head to the Campanile instead. A lift takes you to the top of the tower, where a spectacular view awaits. It’s a great way to get a sense of Venice’s unique layout, and how far out at sea you are.

It’s when you escape the mêlée of pigeons, children and many visitors, young and old, that you realise DD724 is in the perfect location, sufficiently off the beaten track for you to amble its neighbourhood in peace. After an afternoon of window-shopping, strolling and stopping off for cappuccini, we make our way towards Campo Santa Margherita. Sitting alfresco at one of the many cafés and bars, surrounded by students, artists and Italian families, we order the traditional aperitif: a spritz. Be warned,the bittersweet symphony of this Seventies-looking cocktail of Campari, white wine and soda is not for all palates. Still, our fizzy red drink is perfect for a toast, and we raise a glass to the most delightful 24 hours imaginable. 

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Price per night from $280.11